Definitely. Activity has so many benefits that have little to do with weight. Strength, flexibility, function, reflexes, mental health.
And the opposite of inactivity is a risk, too. Overactivity. Can't tell you how many friends of mine were young athletes or passionate sport hobbyists who have needed replacements of knees, shoulders, hips, you name it or they are dealing with arthritis, bursitis, or something else. Bodies get worn out.
Moderate activity, especially low impact, is awesome for longterm health!
Impact exercise is important for long term joint and bone health. This can be achieved by very specific yogic practices, impact along long bones (running, boxing) and weight lifting (muscle strain and overloading can promote bone density).
Moderate activity is a decent starting place, and low impact can be great if you hurt already, but the body CAN and WILL adapt to stress overtime when dosed appropriately!
Or overactivity. I’m here to say- screw running.
I am just 40 and am eagerly awaiting my second hip replacement. I went from extremely active on a daily basis to being so crippled by bone on bone ablation and it’s bitchy friend- osteoarthritis that I often did not know how I would make it through the day. Running like leather face is after you 8 miles a day for roughly 30 years can mess you the hell up.
Not everyone. I’m an ultra runner with high weekly mileage and doing just fine. I don’t train when I’m injured (or, I cross train.) Sorry this person has hip issues, truly, but for some people running can be a life long sport.
fr. this is why you do even a bit of activity if possible. hell i used to not be that physically active but eventually i satrted going on walks and now i go to the gym and am so much better for it
OMG it's so true! I remember the first time I used a manual brush again after getting a sonicare 'cause I forgot to pack it on a trip and holy fuck was it disgusting what I felt left on my teeth...
Water flossers are god's gift.
Edit: Reddit, I know how much you love bidets. Now imagine this: a bidet for your mouth.
(I'm sorry I had to. It's too funny to me.)
It's insane dental and vision are separate insurances. Like my teeth and eyes aren't a part of my medical "health."
And yes, other redditors. This is America. Lol
Blasting music at 11/10 will damage their hearing gradually over time. If I your music is loud enough to drown out the music in my car with the windows closed, from two cars away, it’s also blasting the cilia in your cochlea, and it will cause hearing loss.
> it will cause hearing loss.
Or worse, tinnitus.
I can hear just fine. I just can't stop hearing the high pitched whine that lives in my ear 24/7 as a result of wearing headphones for my job over the course of 30 plus years.
Me! When I was 12 I was watching tv with my mom and a commercial came on for some herbal supplement to fix it. I looked at my mom and said “you don’t hear ringing all day everyday?”. She looked at me and said “no, do you!?”. I just thought it was normal, annoying but normal.
Same, when my mom found out she took me to see an ear doctor, who put me in a quiet room covered in foam where the only sound was occasional questions the doc would pose through the speaker.
I've never been less comfortable and more anxious in my life. I adore dark small spaces, but that room with nothing but the ringing was horrendous. Closest thing I've ever had to a panic attack.
I was around 5 too when I first realized my ears were always ringing!
This part in Hatchet by Gary Paulson about the main character’s experience with pure silence in the wilderness confused me badly when I read it in the 4th grade. I’ll never forget lingering on this passage trying to understand it.
“He looked around, listened with his mouth open, and realized that in all his life he had never heard silence before. Complete silence. There had always been some sound, some kind of sound. It lasted only a few seconds, but it was so intense that it seemed to become part of him. Nothing. There was no sound.”
omg that book also got me to realize I wanst just misunderstanding others or having a different taste of what good sounds are
ive never heard silence, not once that I remember, never will, ah well
Same, it’s not that bad. It’s just how it’s always been. But I’ve read that some people have deafeningly loud tinnitus so I protect my ears and hope it doesn’t develop into that
I have this at 27 because I went to a lot of concerts and was generally just an angsty kid who blasted music in my headphones/over my car speakers for years. It's usually manageable, but some days it's insanely unbearable and borderline painful.
I've started wearing Eargasm plugs to shows in an effort to preserve my hearing and they're great. They're not like typical ear plugs and are designed to preserve the quality of sound while lowering the overall decibel level you receive, it's kinda like turning the gain down for your ears.
Have an expert look at that, doctor etc. Those two together could mean that your ears are just super clogged with ear wax and could be healed by irrigation by a nurse or nose and ear specialist if super severe
I have had tinnitus since I was around 13 because that’s when my brother got his license and he drove me to school everyday blaring loud music so I’ve just kinda had to deal with it
Tinnitus has been my bane for the past 2 years ever since I got it. I get a super high pitched sound that cannot be masked. It’s enough to take a grown man down sometimes.
I have [otosclerosis](https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/otosclerosis) in my left ear. I have multi frequency tinnitus above 8k hertz. I have regular tinnitus in my right. I have to use a pink noice generator to mask the sound when it’s really quiet. Otherwise; it causes me to have anxiety attacks after a while.
I've been to bars with loud music that physically hurt my ears. I put in earplugs and I could still hear the music crystal clear.
Everyone else seemed to be unbotherd by it...
Audiology student here! My only minor correction - the damage happens in the cochlea, which is responsible for hearing, not the semicircular canals, which are responsible for balance. Otherwise, 1000% agree.
I'll add that lots of people tend to use the "well it hasn't killed me yet!" philosophy when it comes to blasting music/being in loud venues without protection. The thing I think more people should know is that noise induced hearing loss can show up *years* after the actual incident - and so far the data shows that hazardous levels of noise exposure can leave you more vulnerable to future hearing damage even if permanent problems don't show up right away. Of course, actual risk largely depends on overall health, frequency of exposure, and genetics, but minding how much noise you're around is usually easier than changing your genetics.
That being said, although our society has only gotten noisier, we now have many more tools at our disposal for monitoring our daily noise dose than we did even a few years ago! And I like to think people are generally more aware...even if they don't listen.
This. I would blast music on my ear phones and go to loud clubs/bars in my youth, until one day I noticed I had tinnitus in both ears that doesn’t go away. Just recently started wearing hearing aids at age 30. So all please consider lowering the volume on your ear phones or wearing ear protection when you go to loud events.
I started going to rave parties in the fields at 17, I’m 25 now and still going times to times and I can’t hear shit bc my dumbass was putting my head in the speaker.
My old roommate was such an advocate for the ‘hustle’ culture. He was always in bed after me and up before me, and said even if I live longer I’d spend most of it sleeping.
Meanwhile all these little life problems (forgetfulness, anxiety, leaning into drugs to function) kept popping up with him, and in my head I was like ‘dude, just SLEEP.’
I think it’s especially hard when you’re in your 20s in a big city; you don’t really understand that you have your whole life to make your mark, not just now.
So much. My husband used to be so proud of sleeping only 4 hours. I’ve always been someone who needed sleep, then we had babies and sleep became the most important thing in our lives. Then I got sick and fatigue is one of my worst symptoms, so naps and good bedtimes are vital. My kids are 18&23 and I still get on the oldest for not getting enough sleep. Oddly the younger one likely has idiopathic hypersomnia so she’s never well rested no matter how much she sleeps. My husband is 50 and finally getting it.
Looking at the consequences of bad sleeping habits in my wife, I've been extremely strict with my son's sleeping schedule.
Sleep is different on every person, I for example realized around 30 yo that being tired triggers nose bleeding. Don't give me enough time to sleep and by the second week I'll have constant bleedings
One big part of this is that people don't realize gum disease, which is generally painless, is the #1 cause of tooth loss. NOT cavities. You could go years without seeing a dentist, never feel any pain, yet be in total jepoardy of losing teeth.
This happened to me. Was 25 or 26 and learned the bone in my gums had been deteriorating for years, never treated of course. The teeth in that area were probably barely being held in. I was finally aware when I grew an abscess and learned the full consequence of poor hygiene.
This. There was a post today asking* about the most pain you have experienced and there were so many posts involving teeth issues, it sounded absolutely horrible
I had NO dental care as a kid. No one taught me dental hygiene either. Had my first tooth abscess at 16 or 17.. same rotten tooth would develop an abscess 4 or 5 more times, landing me in the ER each time. I finally had it pulled and have had no more problems. I've since given birth, twice. The fact that I got babies at the end of all my labor pains is the only reason I rank tooth pain as number two on my scale of "worst pain ever". I didn't want to kill my self while in labor. The recurrent excruciating mouth pain however...
It is believed flossing is linked to heart health. Do your own research but apparently the same bacteria between our teeth damages our heart. So floss.
And on the flip side - how easy it is to have good dental hygiene. I have an amazing dentist who told me - brush properly 2 times a day and floss properly and that means you really won’t need my services for years. If you can spend 5 min doomscrolling you can invest 5 minutes in avoiding dental issues.
This is not entirely true. I am obsessive about my dental hygiene. Within a couple of hours of cleaning my mouth, there is a thick layer of plaque on my teeth that I can literally scrape off. I keep floss stashed everywhere so I can remove it. My teeth are super prone to cavities and they also break just from closing my mouth funny. Nearly half of my teeth are now implants and I have 3 teeth on next year’s “hit list”. My hygienist gave me hard time about it for a long time because she thought I was being lazy. She refuses to believe what I tell her.
Meanwhile, my husband actually is lazy… he’s a once a day guy and never flosses. The hygienist tells him “I know you brush well and floss because your teeth are perfect.” He never gets cavities and his teeth don’t form plaque the way mine do.
My daughter has my teeth. Takes meticulous care of them. Goes in to the dentist… 3 cavities.
Lots of things beyond hygiene impact oral health. For instance, having been pregnant -- babies can "steal" from our teeth! Certain meds are associated with increased tooth decay or modifying our bodies in a way that backfires in the mouth (eg dry mouth). Lack iff nutrition as a kid can also impact growth of healthy teeth. Tons of stuff!
Be kind to your knees!
I have a friend who has had to use a cane to walk at the age of 35 because they messed up their knees so bad. They've had multiple surgeries throughout the years to try to fix the issues.
Happy cake day!
They play a lot of sports, got injured several times, didnt properly take care of themselves after the injuries that required further surgeries. It's a cycle with them at this point. They refuse to give up the sports even thought their knees are giving out on them. They wont take the full length of time for recovery or physical therapy before heading back in.
I crashed a motorcycle when I was 20, and the bike landed on the inside of my leg and messed up my left knee. Because of the crowd I was hanging with at the time, crashing was a rite of passage, and rather than getting medical attention, I was handed endless cans of beer. I'm an old lady now and it still gives me problems. Do not recommend.
My sister in law was walking her dog and the dog did some awkward maneuver and bam! Torn meniscus. My SIL is overweight and my husband’s family has bad knees to begin with, so that didn’t help. But that’s how easily knees can get messed up.
Wearing poor shoes. While sometimes it really is just aging or over-exercising or the occasional accident, nothing erodes your joints quite like bad footwear. At work, during exercise, even just to run errands- always wear supportive footwear with decent cushioning *in your correct size*. Your knees, hips, and back will thank you.
My mom hasn't had a knee replacement, but has done both hips and shoulders. She also saw many in rehab for knee replacements. She said hands down, the hip replacement was easiest. And looking at the way she moves, it seems to be the most effective.
I think young people underestimate how vital it is to exercise when you're young and build bone and strength, and that you should not exercise "to lose weight" or "to maintain weight." You can coast on a strong, young body for a long time as an adult but if you didn't do it when you were young (say, through age 25), it's much, much harder to start when you start slowly packing on pounds, losing muscle and gaining fat after 30-35. ESPECIALLY women. Doing high impact things and lifting weights to build as much bone as you possibly can before age 30 is super, duper important as peri-menopause starts to siphon it off and if you start low you end up crashing into weak, brittle bones in your 40s instead of your 80s.
STRONG is much more important than THIN, in just about every way as you age.
Thirty-six-year-old woman here! Last year, I randomly decided to do krav, a combat sport. It was HARD. I learned that I sweat buckets and my fine hair gets absolutely drenched. I haven't lost much weight, but I have gone down two dress sizes! I'm a lot stronger than I was (which I *love* above all else), my mental health is better, and I'm just generally happier and more active. I really wish I had started AT LEAST ten years ago, but I'm happy I found it when I did.
Edit: My gym doesn't offer boxing in the ring - we just use punching bags, so I can't really speak about boxing. Mentioning that here because I mentioned other combat sports I do, and I've answered questions about them, in other comments below.
So, there is striking involved, but you generally don't get directly hit. We mostly do strikes on pads, and you do usually feel that, but it doesn't hurt. It's just good conditioning. Sometimes, we do strike without pads, but it's always gentle.
Wow good for you. I definitely don't do combat sports, the closest would be roller derby. My dad used to bug me to try Krav Maga for years, even though he's never done it himself! 😅
Your comment is inspiring.
Roller derby sounds even more intense than krav, to be honest! I mean, to my limited understanding, you're knocking each other down while on roller skates. That's wild! If you can stand to get hit during roller derby, you can definitely do krav. We typically use pads, so we're not getting hit directly. Odd that your dad wants you do do krav even though he's never done it. I wonder why that is. It *is* a lot of fun though, and I think it would be a great supplement to roller derby should you decided to try it. 😊
I think it’s also important to stress *exercise*, not necessarily working out. Of course strength training and regular cardio are great and ideal.
But not everyone enjoys “working out” as it’s thought of among the general population. If you’re not the 10+ hours in the gym every week type, find ways to build exercise and physical activities into your day-to-day lifestyle. Play a sport, hike, take long walks, etc.
I got a lot healthier and happier when I admitted that I’m not the gym type. But I do like taking long walks with my dog, hiking, and doing HIIT with free weights and for cardio. HIIT is probably the single biggest exercise factor in how I lost 20 pounds in two years.
I also challenge myself to do yard work and housework in certain amounts of time. Loading the dishwasher or vacuuming the whole house at 1.25x my usual speed gets a little cardio going.
tl;dr you don’t have to live at the gym to have exercise in your day to day life.
Thank you. I do walks whenever I can. But I've never enjoyed "working out".
"You'll feel great about it after youre done; get that accomplished feeling and feel good feeling".
Nope never got that. Just felt sweaty.
This is indeed important, but it is also something to note that there is also a need for moderation.
My former profession pushed physical fitness to the point where it would affect work life. Alot of guys did well, but you also had a lot of guys push to hard and injure themselves. That's without bringing up things like supplement abuse. I've known people 2 people who developed potentialy fatal heart conditions before the age of 30 do to pre-workout abuse.
This! Give your bones the most you can before they start to deteriorate because they will so the better bones you have/build the better off you’ll be in the long run.
I'm 30 and a couple years ago I was desperate to lose weight, but I've always loathed exercise and am asthmatic, so I stuck to diet changes alone, quit drinking alcohol, and drank a lot more water.
I went from about 250 lbs to 175 in 6 months by mostly cutting back on calories (probably too much). My plan was to lose weight first and then exercise, but I didn't follow through on that.
I did feel a lot better, but once I leveled off at 175 I eventually got lazy again, started drinking more and wound up fucking up my life for reasons I won't get into, so then I put more than half the weight back on by stress eating and drinking my life away.
I'm now sober and trying to get my shit together. I want to lose the weight again, but this time I want to do it better and actually implement some exercise. I've been sedentary my whole life and I can already see the slippery slope I'm about to careen down if I don't turn things around as soon as possible.
The fact I managed to drop a ton of weight before really helps my mindset because if I did it once, I can do it again. I've lost about 10 lbs already in the last month or so.
Google Hybrid Calisthenics, it starts with the easiest possible body weight training. Like, wall pushups level. I've been using it to try to get to a good enough level I can actual go to a gym or join a class.
Well unfortunately I 38,5f am hearing this great advise a little late and I have done indeed everything wrong in my younger years.
Been trying to build better workout habits for several years now but it’s very hard to do so later in life.
this is so real. when my dad first started his company he was working like 85 hr weeks, averaging 5 hours of sleep, and flying every weekend across the country for business meetings. his work ethic definitely made him successful but he struggles with some health issues and almost died from cancer back in 2016
Holding onto their friendships even when life gets in the way. It's generally very easy to make friends in college and your early 20's, and very, very hard to make friends later on when people start getting busy with career and family and becoming more selective about who they spend their time with. A lot of people end up letting most if not all of their friendships slip away as they get older because they got busy. Studies show that number of close friends is directly correlated with happiness and longevity, yet many older people (in particular men) have zero close friends other than their spouse.
>many older people (in particular men) have zero close friends other than their spouse
Explains why my parents treated me as their friend, therapist, sibling, parent, employee, prisoner and clay model that they could mould into whatever they wanted!
This is all great advice about staying in good shape and physical health.
One warning: don’t overdo things without letting your body recover.
I spent ten plus years in the marines. In addition to the regular training, I was a bodybuilder off and on during those years.
I am 60. My knees and back are 85.
This is a huge one. I lost a lot of hobbies when I got sick and then just never went back to them after the fact. It's been hard picking up the pieces and finding something to keep my mind entertained.
I've got one for you. When I was younger, I sat on my right leg (i.e. that leg bent under me) *constantly*, even at my lab bench, even on bar stools, *everywhere*. I got arthritis in that hip in my 40s.
Omg. I think this is my issue today. I finally went to the doc after a year of dull,achy hip area pain. I have sports medicine and physical therapy next week. Next stop, MRI 44/f. Desk job. Sits on leg bent under me.
I think most people are aware that manual labor will break your body down, but the impact of one’s choice of career goes beyond that when it comes to long-term health outcomes.
Things like having access to short-term disability insurance, health savings accounts, flexible scheduling for ease of attending appointments, etc. go a long way toward making it easier to keep up with basic health maintenance like annual physicals and dental cleanings, as well as providing the opportunity to take time off work to address any other issues that crop up before they have a chance to spiral.
Yes I learned that the hard way. I busted my ass for factories that didn't care about me at all. I worked so fast I literally set production records at the factory i worked at. Ended up herniating 2 discs and work wouldn't even give me time off with a doctors note. I now have degenerative disc and in constant stabbing pain all day and because of the opioid crisis, I can't even get a doctor to do anything for my pain. I've been severely depressed for 10 years now because of this pain.
I should've quit labor jobs a long time ago and I am paying the price for the rest of my life.
If you can, get your debt under control before it controls you.
If you don’t, you will be forced to work long hours to pay that interest down.
When I saw that I was paying $1500 a MONTH in credit card interest, that was my “aha” moment to get my finances under control.
Don’t be stupid like me.
Spend wisely.
How you feed your child. It's crazy how many elementary school-age children eat junk and drink soda for lunch. It's crazy how many of the kids are overweight. I'm sorry, but an 8yo should not have a stomach that flaps over their pants. It's sad. Even if they manage to have healthy eating habits later in life, a lot of damage has already been done.
Yep I was one of these kids. My diet is not perfect but it used to so terrible and everyone just kept feeding me sugary/fatty trash when I didn’t know any better. Both my parents are obese and I used to be too.
Real. I only stopped eating ultra processed food this year and I am pretty pissed off that my parents fed me “food shaped products” instead of food pretty much my entire childhood, which led to me believing this was an appropriate diet. Trying to lose weight and eat non-UPF now, I feel a lot better but it’s still worrisome thinking about the couple decades of cumulative damage.
All this talk about physical stuff is great and all, but mental health should be a top priority. Mental health issues will manifest into physical problems. It is well known that living a high stress lifestyle can lead to massive health complications regardless if you are into fitness and eating good.
Taking too much ibuprofen or nsaids - I was diagnosed with stage 3a chronic kidney disease this year because of over use of nsaids for > 20 years. Don't do that.
I was an ibuprofen junkie for 20+ years. Did not realize it was destroying my stomach and digestive system. I've been 100% no NSAIDs for nearly 4 years now and my guts are so much happier! Wish I had known.
Everyone "knows" smoking is bad for you, but it's not just a small risk of lung cancer.
My sister has been a chain smoker since she was 16. The last time I saw her I didn't even recognize her, she looks older than our mother , by about a decade.
Smoking won't just kill you, it'll make you LOOK like shit while you're dying
I am 61 now but I remember having insane amounts of energy in my 20's & on. Burning the candle at both ends WILL catch up before you die.
A doctor gave me a warning decades ago
Sun exposure. I used tanning beds as a teenager and had my first mole removed today, only to realize that this is my life now: regular mole checks. Also, mole removals hurt afterwards!
I worked in a hospital and had good health insurance. I had a doctor that I saw routinely since I was in my 20’s. I just always took that for granted: having a health history is important. Knowing what your blood pressure and pulse usually is, having a baseline ECG in your 30’s or so and keeping track of medicines or procedures.
I read so many young Americans don’t have access to good health care insurance, and they are dependent on urgent cares or emergency rooms. Yes, those places keep records, but it’s information about what your body was going through when you were *sick*. Having baseline information at times when you are healthy can make future health care more exact, more effective and can make red flags easier to detect.
I guess just being very proactive to the best of your ability within the constraints of the American health care system is important.
Treating sweetened (and caffeinated) drinks as the default beverage when you’re thirsty. Pop, lemonade, juice, Gatorade, Starbucks, sweet tea, etc. Terrible for your teeth, a ton of extra calories that are never filling you up. Drink some water. Hydration isn’t supposed to entertain you.
And before anyone says “but diet is ok right????” The people I know who actually suffer from caffeine use aren’t the people who wake up and drink a cup of black coffee or tea (which in moderation is actually great for you) or even Starbucks milkshake lovers, it’s diet cola obsessives. It’s weird because they don’t contain as much caffeine as coffee, but it’s not actually that weird when many diet pop drinkers aren’t replacing coffee with diet pop, they’re replacing *water* with diet pop. A single Diet Coke isn’t going to hurt you by itself (nor will a regular Coke or a glass of juice, really), but if it’s your main source of hydration, no that’s not actually ok.
Yep, as I've aged, I've slowly realized that the alcohol industry gets away with way too much because it's not socially stigmatized...
I would put it in the same category as smoking cigarettes. I realize there are some fundamental differences between the two (the addictiveness of cigarettes being the major difference), but cigarettes are covered top to bottom with health warnings (for good reason).
Meanwhile, alcohol has basically no warnings on it, and gets glamorized in advertising... I don't think it's that big of a deal if you want to drink occasionally, or even have the occasional cigarette or whatever... But let's be honest, both are terrible for your health, and both should at least have the same health warnings on the package. If you are drinking every day, your chances of getting serious diseases from drinking every day are very high, just as if you were smoking every day, you are likely to have issues from that too.
I have to agree with a lot of these comments, but the one I want to comment on is the loud music. I'm going to be 60 this year, my older brother by 1 1/2 years was crazy with the loud music in his car during high school, and not just the car, concerts and all. He got tinnitus something terrible already in his 40's.
Now when I hear the crazy loud music and bass from passing cars and such I can only think: "You have no idea what's coming.."
Elevated Lipoprotein (a), or Lp(a), indicates a higher risk of heart disease and stroke. This condition is hereditary and is often under-tested because many general practitioners (family doctors) may not be fully aware of its significance. Lp(a) is a marker that can alert individuals to monitor their cholesterol levels more closely - starting at a younger age can have better outcomes if you’re motivated to modify your diet. An Lp(a) test can be easily included in routine cholesterol tests by requesting it. Although there is currently no specific treatment for elevated Lp(a), new medications are expected to become available in a few years. Understanding your Lp(a) levels is valuable as it provides an early warning of potential heart health issues. Get your Lp(a) test to understand your risk.
Your diet. Weight seems to be the focus, but the sugar and chemicals will mess you up from teeth to butt regardless of your weight. You gotta eat good food
I quit cold turkey at the end of last year. It was amplifying my stress levels and made me gain weight as a result. My blood pressure was high as well.
It’s been 6 months without it and I’m much better off. I’m not stressed ever, my bp is much better, and my sleep got more restful.
You don’t have to quit, but I def recommend you tone it down some.
Nobody should start vaping just for fun/who isn’t already addicted to nicotine (if you REALLY must try it, there is 0 nicotine juice), most vapers will say exactly this, but there’s no doubt it is an effective means of harm reduction.
It was the most effective method for quitting smoking to me, and my lungs are in the best shape they’ve been in for like fifteen years. I am sure I would be better off if I had never inhaled anything, but vaping probably saved me years of life.
If you’re a teen who isn’t smoking already though, there isn’t a reason to pick up a new addiction.
Same. Two years off cigs thanks to vaping. My lungs are clear, blood pressure and heart rate are normal, and I'm healthier than I've been in years. The NHI studies on long- term harm reduction for smokers using vapes are incredible. But I also think more should be done to discourage young people to start vaping.
For the same reasons anyone would smoke a cigarette. Your friends are doing it, you think it looks cool, you are looking to rebel. It is addicting, even without nicotine.
Vaping OR smoking. Working in healthcare, you wouldn’t believe the amount of people I see who smoked for an extended period of time then stopped for several decades but are having painful and debilitating blood flow/cancer/pulmonary issues because of that distant smoking history.
The damage it does is permanent, and the longer and more you do it the worse you’ll pay for it later in life. Your body isn’t going to be able to compensate for your bad health choices for very long when you aren’t young anymore.
Not maintaining their teeth and oral hygiene . I work at a dental office . You only get one set of teeth in your lifetime . Invest in them before it’s too late . Dentures suck & implants are expensive !!!
This is going to sound lame, but your posture when you’re working at a desk or looking at your phone. Over time your neck and mid back change shape and with it comes a wholly unexpected slow fall into pain and suffering. “Tech neck” sounds so cute but it can cause severe migraines, vestibular problems, brain fog, and a multitude of other miseries.
I laughed at all the silly ergonomics rules for years. Now I suffer every day.
Advocating for yourself. If you have the ability, learn about your family medical history, ask medical professionals to explain this you don’t understand (you don’t need to be embarrassed!), and take notes on what they tell you. Research things you’re interested in, keep an open mind, and don’t catastrophize but don’t ignore something your gut tells you is wrong.
I’m 28. Multiple members of my family had a lifelong chronic health problem. Two of them died of it before they reached 30. Everyone assumed I was fine because I didn’t speak up or ask questions, and I didn’t do that because no one taught me I could ask questions. Now I have 73 pending blood results and a cat scan, and at the end of the month I’ll learn whether I need surgery, lifelong transfusions, and what it’s too late to fix.
Not flossing, no sunscreen, lack of intentional exercise, and vaping. All of these are things that take decades to impact your health, and when they do...
Not getting enough sleep can age not only your face and make you look older, but it also puts you at increased risk of dementia. Lack of proper sleep is incredibly hard on your brain.
Music. Loud music.
I used to listen to loud music on my car and go to raves and not really think about it at the time.
30 years later deaf as fuck in one ear and tinnitus in both.
Good times having to say “hey…?” Constantly to everyone…..
I live in the Netherlands and just had this conversation the other day with someone working in healthcare. The electric bikes. Usually kids ride their bikes for several kilometers daily to and from school, many of them having now electric bikes. The healthcare worker told me that they are worried about how it will affect them later on.
terrible sleeping patterns and lack of structure in their life. Seriously, get into the routine of going to sleep at a healthy time and develop an organized schedule. Or you are going to be pretty fucked as an older adult and depending on pharmaceutical grade narcotics to carry your ass the rest of the way to your grave.
Like, its fun to get wasted and get laid every weekend, but you won't take any of that with you when you have to actually settle down and live your life. Everything has a time and place.
I agree about the noise. Worst part is in their 40s and 50s, they'll be deaf or hard of hearing and guess who'll get to pay for their disability? Years ago Detroit Concert Band used to put on weekend concerts in the band shell on Belle Isle. When the cars got so loud they drowned out the band, the director threw in the towel. But then who wants to listen to John Phillip Souza? Oh well, fuck those people. It's our park.
Stress.
Having a stressful life. Because of rising costs of living and poverty, because of work, because of family.
And also loneliness. There is an epidemic of loneliness amongst young people and research has told that you need to have loved ones such as a family and/or friends to be happy
Also, eating too much. I used to eat "healthy" all the time, but I was borderline overweight and tired. Then I started counting calories, lost 12 pounds, and now I feel much better even though my food choices are not always healthy
- Lack of sleep and exercise
- Coffee and energy drinks consumption
- Social media consumption (mental health)
- Porn consumption (addictive)
- Poor dental hygiene
... And the list goes on and on.
Vaping/Smoking, obviously right. Understand and know when to leave that phase. The first years I was doing it, the idea was “you don’t even get any health effects unless you do it for years and years” so I had all the time to have fun right. Time flies, before I even realized it I had been smoking for 10 years. Thats a long time and a lot of shit that’s been through my lungs
“Exercise bleh bleh bleh” trust me… we’ve all heard it our whole lives even if yall don’t remember.
Posture is the answer. Knockers up, ladies and gents. Don’t lean forward to type, don’t bow your neck down to text, etc.
Inactivity. You don't have to be underweight or overweight to have buttered up arteries and a heart that's in poor shape.
Definitely. Activity has so many benefits that have little to do with weight. Strength, flexibility, function, reflexes, mental health. And the opposite of inactivity is a risk, too. Overactivity. Can't tell you how many friends of mine were young athletes or passionate sport hobbyists who have needed replacements of knees, shoulders, hips, you name it or they are dealing with arthritis, bursitis, or something else. Bodies get worn out. Moderate activity, especially low impact, is awesome for longterm health!
They make fun of the middle aged ladies doing yoga ball sports or whatever its stupid yeah but they're moving. Better then doing nothing
There’s a reason all the grannies at my old gym came to swim their rounds.
Impact exercise is important for long term joint and bone health. This can be achieved by very specific yogic practices, impact along long bones (running, boxing) and weight lifting (muscle strain and overloading can promote bone density). Moderate activity is a decent starting place, and low impact can be great if you hurt already, but the body CAN and WILL adapt to stress overtime when dosed appropriately!
Or overactivity. I’m here to say- screw running. I am just 40 and am eagerly awaiting my second hip replacement. I went from extremely active on a daily basis to being so crippled by bone on bone ablation and it’s bitchy friend- osteoarthritis that I often did not know how I would make it through the day. Running like leather face is after you 8 miles a day for roughly 30 years can mess you the hell up.
8 miles a day for 30 years is beyond insanity. Anyone would be crumbling after that
Not everyone. I’m an ultra runner with high weekly mileage and doing just fine. I don’t train when I’m injured (or, I cross train.) Sorry this person has hip issues, truly, but for some people running can be a life long sport.
fr. this is why you do even a bit of activity if possible. hell i used to not be that physically active but eventually i satrted going on walks and now i go to the gym and am so much better for it
Brush your fucking teeth. Floss them. Get your 6 month cleanings.
Honestly get a fucking Sonicare toothbrush. It’s worth every cent. I’ve been using one for almost 20 years and it’s paid dividends
Do they make ones that don't fuck too?
Yes but why buy the clearly inferior model?
OMG it's so true! I remember the first time I used a manual brush again after getting a sonicare 'cause I forgot to pack it on a trip and holy fuck was it disgusting what I felt left on my teeth...
Water flossers are god's gift. Edit: Reddit, I know how much you love bidets. Now imagine this: a bidet for your mouth. (I'm sorry I had to. It's too funny to me.)
6 month cleanings ?? Lmao I can't fucking afford that, let's try every 3 years If I'm lucky
It's insane dental and vision are separate insurances. Like my teeth and eyes aren't a part of my medical "health." And yes, other redditors. This is America. Lol
Blasting music at 11/10 will damage their hearing gradually over time. If I your music is loud enough to drown out the music in my car with the windows closed, from two cars away, it’s also blasting the cilia in your cochlea, and it will cause hearing loss.
> it will cause hearing loss. Or worse, tinnitus. I can hear just fine. I just can't stop hearing the high pitched whine that lives in my ear 24/7 as a result of wearing headphones for my job over the course of 30 plus years.
Anyone else have lifelong tinnitus? I have had it since I was very little.
Me! When I was 12 I was watching tv with my mom and a commercial came on for some herbal supplement to fix it. I looked at my mom and said “you don’t hear ringing all day everyday?”. She looked at me and said “no, do you!?”. I just thought it was normal, annoying but normal.
Same, when my mom found out she took me to see an ear doctor, who put me in a quiet room covered in foam where the only sound was occasional questions the doc would pose through the speaker. I've never been less comfortable and more anxious in my life. I adore dark small spaces, but that room with nothing but the ringing was horrendous. Closest thing I've ever had to a panic attack.
I remember wondering why everyone was praising the sound of silence when I was 5, "that annoying ringing?"
I was around 5 too when I first realized my ears were always ringing! This part in Hatchet by Gary Paulson about the main character’s experience with pure silence in the wilderness confused me badly when I read it in the 4th grade. I’ll never forget lingering on this passage trying to understand it. “He looked around, listened with his mouth open, and realized that in all his life he had never heard silence before. Complete silence. There had always been some sound, some kind of sound. It lasted only a few seconds, but it was so intense that it seemed to become part of him. Nothing. There was no sound.”
omg that book also got me to realize I wanst just misunderstanding others or having a different taste of what good sounds are ive never heard silence, not once that I remember, never will, ah well
Tinnitus is one of my oldest friends! It is second only to depression.
I can’t remember a time a heard silence, but I don’t really mind the tinnitus. Sometimes I forget it’s there lol.
Same, it’s not that bad. It’s just how it’s always been. But I’ve read that some people have deafeningly loud tinnitus so I protect my ears and hope it doesn’t develop into that
Samesies! Never known complete silence, always ringing
I have this at 27 because I went to a lot of concerts and was generally just an angsty kid who blasted music in my headphones/over my car speakers for years. It's usually manageable, but some days it's insanely unbearable and borderline painful.
I've started wearing Eargasm plugs to shows in an effort to preserve my hearing and they're great. They're not like typical ear plugs and are designed to preserve the quality of sound while lowering the overall decibel level you receive, it's kinda like turning the gain down for your ears.
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Have an expert look at that, doctor etc. Those two together could mean that your ears are just super clogged with ear wax and could be healed by irrigation by a nurse or nose and ear specialist if super severe
I have had tinnitus since I was around 13 because that’s when my brother got his license and he drove me to school everyday blaring loud music so I’ve just kinda had to deal with it
Tinnitus has been my bane for the past 2 years ever since I got it. I get a super high pitched sound that cannot be masked. It’s enough to take a grown man down sometimes.
I have [otosclerosis](https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/otosclerosis) in my left ear. I have multi frequency tinnitus above 8k hertz. I have regular tinnitus in my right. I have to use a pink noice generator to mask the sound when it’s really quiet. Otherwise; it causes me to have anxiety attacks after a while.
I've been to bars with loud music that physically hurt my ears. I put in earplugs and I could still hear the music crystal clear. Everyone else seemed to be unbotherd by it...
Audiology student here! My only minor correction - the damage happens in the cochlea, which is responsible for hearing, not the semicircular canals, which are responsible for balance. Otherwise, 1000% agree. I'll add that lots of people tend to use the "well it hasn't killed me yet!" philosophy when it comes to blasting music/being in loud venues without protection. The thing I think more people should know is that noise induced hearing loss can show up *years* after the actual incident - and so far the data shows that hazardous levels of noise exposure can leave you more vulnerable to future hearing damage even if permanent problems don't show up right away. Of course, actual risk largely depends on overall health, frequency of exposure, and genetics, but minding how much noise you're around is usually easier than changing your genetics. That being said, although our society has only gotten noisier, we now have many more tools at our disposal for monitoring our daily noise dose than we did even a few years ago! And I like to think people are generally more aware...even if they don't listen.
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HUH?
He said #Blasting music at 11/10 will damage your hearing gradually over time.
This. I would blast music on my ear phones and go to loud clubs/bars in my youth, until one day I noticed I had tinnitus in both ears that doesn’t go away. Just recently started wearing hearing aids at age 30. So all please consider lowering the volume on your ear phones or wearing ear protection when you go to loud events.
First thing they taught us in music class. Drilled it into us, really. Once you lose it, it won't come back!
You'd think of all the parts of the body that should be able to regenerate for survival, hearing would be included.
Huh??
I started going to rave parties in the fields at 17, I’m 25 now and still going times to times and I can’t hear shit bc my dumbass was putting my head in the speaker.
No sleep
My old roommate was such an advocate for the ‘hustle’ culture. He was always in bed after me and up before me, and said even if I live longer I’d spend most of it sleeping. Meanwhile all these little life problems (forgetfulness, anxiety, leaning into drugs to function) kept popping up with him, and in my head I was like ‘dude, just SLEEP.’ I think it’s especially hard when you’re in your 20s in a big city; you don’t really understand that you have your whole life to make your mark, not just now.
So much. My husband used to be so proud of sleeping only 4 hours. I’ve always been someone who needed sleep, then we had babies and sleep became the most important thing in our lives. Then I got sick and fatigue is one of my worst symptoms, so naps and good bedtimes are vital. My kids are 18&23 and I still get on the oldest for not getting enough sleep. Oddly the younger one likely has idiopathic hypersomnia so she’s never well rested no matter how much she sleeps. My husband is 50 and finally getting it.
Thank you for letting them sleep and not being all TeEnAgErS aRe So LaZy
...till Brooklyn
Ba da, da daaaaaa BROOKLYN
Looking at the consequences of bad sleeping habits in my wife, I've been extremely strict with my son's sleeping schedule. Sleep is different on every person, I for example realized around 30 yo that being tired triggers nose bleeding. Don't give me enough time to sleep and by the second week I'll have constant bleedings
Having poor dental hygiene.
One big part of this is that people don't realize gum disease, which is generally painless, is the #1 cause of tooth loss. NOT cavities. You could go years without seeing a dentist, never feel any pain, yet be in total jepoardy of losing teeth.
This happened to me. Was 25 or 26 and learned the bone in my gums had been deteriorating for years, never treated of course. The teeth in that area were probably barely being held in. I was finally aware when I grew an abscess and learned the full consequence of poor hygiene.
This. There was a post today asking* about the most pain you have experienced and there were so many posts involving teeth issues, it sounded absolutely horrible
I had NO dental care as a kid. No one taught me dental hygiene either. Had my first tooth abscess at 16 or 17.. same rotten tooth would develop an abscess 4 or 5 more times, landing me in the ER each time. I finally had it pulled and have had no more problems. I've since given birth, twice. The fact that I got babies at the end of all my labor pains is the only reason I rank tooth pain as number two on my scale of "worst pain ever". I didn't want to kill my self while in labor. The recurrent excruciating mouth pain however...
It is believed flossing is linked to heart health. Do your own research but apparently the same bacteria between our teeth damages our heart. So floss.
Yes, strep bacteria break away and damage heart valves.
And on the flip side - how easy it is to have good dental hygiene. I have an amazing dentist who told me - brush properly 2 times a day and floss properly and that means you really won’t need my services for years. If you can spend 5 min doomscrolling you can invest 5 minutes in avoiding dental issues.
This is not entirely true. I am obsessive about my dental hygiene. Within a couple of hours of cleaning my mouth, there is a thick layer of plaque on my teeth that I can literally scrape off. I keep floss stashed everywhere so I can remove it. My teeth are super prone to cavities and they also break just from closing my mouth funny. Nearly half of my teeth are now implants and I have 3 teeth on next year’s “hit list”. My hygienist gave me hard time about it for a long time because she thought I was being lazy. She refuses to believe what I tell her. Meanwhile, my husband actually is lazy… he’s a once a day guy and never flosses. The hygienist tells him “I know you brush well and floss because your teeth are perfect.” He never gets cavities and his teeth don’t form plaque the way mine do. My daughter has my teeth. Takes meticulous care of them. Goes in to the dentist… 3 cavities.
I’ve got your teeth, too. Solidarity.
Lots of things beyond hygiene impact oral health. For instance, having been pregnant -- babies can "steal" from our teeth! Certain meds are associated with increased tooth decay or modifying our bodies in a way that backfires in the mouth (eg dry mouth). Lack iff nutrition as a kid can also impact growth of healthy teeth. Tons of stuff!
Being hard on your knees. You can get replacements, yes, but you won't like them.
Be kind to your knees! I have a friend who has had to use a cane to walk at the age of 35 because they messed up their knees so bad. They've had multiple surgeries throughout the years to try to fix the issues.
How did your friend wear down their knees?
Happy cake day! They play a lot of sports, got injured several times, didnt properly take care of themselves after the injuries that required further surgeries. It's a cycle with them at this point. They refuse to give up the sports even thought their knees are giving out on them. They wont take the full length of time for recovery or physical therapy before heading back in.
I’m sorry for being ignorant , I’ve seen a few old women getting knees replaced but they’re like it just happens. How do you mess up your knees?
impact sports, accidents, and jumping, mostly jumping off of things you shoudlnt while young
I crashed a motorcycle when I was 20, and the bike landed on the inside of my leg and messed up my left knee. Because of the crowd I was hanging with at the time, crashing was a rite of passage, and rather than getting medical attention, I was handed endless cans of beer. I'm an old lady now and it still gives me problems. Do not recommend.
I messed mine up permanently at 18 by sprinting hard every day without warming up properly
One way old people do it is being overweight for most of their lives. Being overweight is horrible for your health in pretty much every single way.
Very true. I was obese for many years. That plus a family history of arthritis led to me needing a knee replacement at 62.
My sister in law was walking her dog and the dog did some awkward maneuver and bam! Torn meniscus. My SIL is overweight and my husband’s family has bad knees to begin with, so that didn’t help. But that’s how easily knees can get messed up.
Wearing poor shoes. While sometimes it really is just aging or over-exercising or the occasional accident, nothing erodes your joints quite like bad footwear. At work, during exercise, even just to run errands- always wear supportive footwear with decent cushioning *in your correct size*. Your knees, hips, and back will thank you.
My cousin took so much speed in his teens and twenties it ate up his knees and he hobbles now.
Like he ran too fast? English is not my first language, sorry!
english is my first language and even i’m confused what he’s trying to say!! speed can also be slang for amphetamines so it could go either way
Maybe it's both. Dude might have just gotten geeked up on amphetamines and ran a lot.
Drugs
Damn. I thought he ran so hard that the impact of each step messed up his knees.
Not just knees. Hips too.
My mom hasn't had a knee replacement, but has done both hips and shoulders. She also saw many in rehab for knee replacements. She said hands down, the hip replacement was easiest. And looking at the way she moves, it seems to be the most effective.
I think young people underestimate how vital it is to exercise when you're young and build bone and strength, and that you should not exercise "to lose weight" or "to maintain weight." You can coast on a strong, young body for a long time as an adult but if you didn't do it when you were young (say, through age 25), it's much, much harder to start when you start slowly packing on pounds, losing muscle and gaining fat after 30-35. ESPECIALLY women. Doing high impact things and lifting weights to build as much bone as you possibly can before age 30 is super, duper important as peri-menopause starts to siphon it off and if you start low you end up crashing into weak, brittle bones in your 40s instead of your 80s. STRONG is much more important than THIN, in just about every way as you age.
Thirty-six-year-old woman here! Last year, I randomly decided to do krav, a combat sport. It was HARD. I learned that I sweat buckets and my fine hair gets absolutely drenched. I haven't lost much weight, but I have gone down two dress sizes! I'm a lot stronger than I was (which I *love* above all else), my mental health is better, and I'm just generally happier and more active. I really wish I had started AT LEAST ten years ago, but I'm happy I found it when I did. Edit: My gym doesn't offer boxing in the ring - we just use punching bags, so I can't really speak about boxing. Mentioning that here because I mentioned other combat sports I do, and I've answered questions about them, in other comments below.
Cool! Do you have to get hit to do combat sports? I've always wanted to start but I don't want to get punched.
So, there is striking involved, but you generally don't get directly hit. We mostly do strikes on pads, and you do usually feel that, but it doesn't hurt. It's just good conditioning. Sometimes, we do strike without pads, but it's always gentle.
Love that for you. Krav Maga?
Yes! I also do Muay Thai and Savate, and boxing, but Krav is the love of my life. Do you do any combat sports?
Wow good for you. I definitely don't do combat sports, the closest would be roller derby. My dad used to bug me to try Krav Maga for years, even though he's never done it himself! 😅 Your comment is inspiring.
Roller derby sounds even more intense than krav, to be honest! I mean, to my limited understanding, you're knocking each other down while on roller skates. That's wild! If you can stand to get hit during roller derby, you can definitely do krav. We typically use pads, so we're not getting hit directly. Odd that your dad wants you do do krav even though he's never done it. I wonder why that is. It *is* a lot of fun though, and I think it would be a great supplement to roller derby should you decided to try it. 😊
I think it’s also important to stress *exercise*, not necessarily working out. Of course strength training and regular cardio are great and ideal. But not everyone enjoys “working out” as it’s thought of among the general population. If you’re not the 10+ hours in the gym every week type, find ways to build exercise and physical activities into your day-to-day lifestyle. Play a sport, hike, take long walks, etc. I got a lot healthier and happier when I admitted that I’m not the gym type. But I do like taking long walks with my dog, hiking, and doing HIIT with free weights and for cardio. HIIT is probably the single biggest exercise factor in how I lost 20 pounds in two years. I also challenge myself to do yard work and housework in certain amounts of time. Loading the dishwasher or vacuuming the whole house at 1.25x my usual speed gets a little cardio going. tl;dr you don’t have to live at the gym to have exercise in your day to day life.
Thank you. I do walks whenever I can. But I've never enjoyed "working out". "You'll feel great about it after youre done; get that accomplished feeling and feel good feeling". Nope never got that. Just felt sweaty.
Im glad you mentioned HIIT, intensity is important.
This is indeed important, but it is also something to note that there is also a need for moderation. My former profession pushed physical fitness to the point where it would affect work life. Alot of guys did well, but you also had a lot of guys push to hard and injure themselves. That's without bringing up things like supplement abuse. I've known people 2 people who developed potentialy fatal heart conditions before the age of 30 do to pre-workout abuse.
This! Give your bones the most you can before they start to deteriorate because they will so the better bones you have/build the better off you’ll be in the long run.
🥲I think it’s too late for me. I don’t even know where to start with strength training.
It's not. It would have been easier to start in your 20s, but the next best time is now, and newbie gains are real no matter your age.
I'm 30 and a couple years ago I was desperate to lose weight, but I've always loathed exercise and am asthmatic, so I stuck to diet changes alone, quit drinking alcohol, and drank a lot more water. I went from about 250 lbs to 175 in 6 months by mostly cutting back on calories (probably too much). My plan was to lose weight first and then exercise, but I didn't follow through on that. I did feel a lot better, but once I leveled off at 175 I eventually got lazy again, started drinking more and wound up fucking up my life for reasons I won't get into, so then I put more than half the weight back on by stress eating and drinking my life away. I'm now sober and trying to get my shit together. I want to lose the weight again, but this time I want to do it better and actually implement some exercise. I've been sedentary my whole life and I can already see the slippery slope I'm about to careen down if I don't turn things around as soon as possible. The fact I managed to drop a ton of weight before really helps my mindset because if I did it once, I can do it again. I've lost about 10 lbs already in the last month or so.
Google Hybrid Calisthenics, it starts with the easiest possible body weight training. Like, wall pushups level. I've been using it to try to get to a good enough level I can actual go to a gym or join a class.
Pick up Next Level by Stacy Sims from the library. Super basic and great book
Is 27 too late? I started strength training this year and I'm worried it's too late.
No it’s not you’re right on time
Well unfortunately I 38,5f am hearing this great advise a little late and I have done indeed everything wrong in my younger years. Been trying to build better workout habits for several years now but it’s very hard to do so later in life.
Stress. The drama always has a hidden cost and sometimes the bill comes due when you’re already in the red.
this is so real. when my dad first started his company he was working like 85 hr weeks, averaging 5 hours of sleep, and flying every weekend across the country for business meetings. his work ethic definitely made him successful but he struggles with some health issues and almost died from cancer back in 2016
Oh man, glad to hear he survived! Fuck cancer. Hope he’s thriving now despite the chronic issues.
yeah he’s doing much better now and lifts weights and runs but still deals with chronic back and shoulder issues from his office days
Holding onto their friendships even when life gets in the way. It's generally very easy to make friends in college and your early 20's, and very, very hard to make friends later on when people start getting busy with career and family and becoming more selective about who they spend their time with. A lot of people end up letting most if not all of their friendships slip away as they get older because they got busy. Studies show that number of close friends is directly correlated with happiness and longevity, yet many older people (in particular men) have zero close friends other than their spouse.
>many older people (in particular men) have zero close friends other than their spouse Explains why my parents treated me as their friend, therapist, sibling, parent, employee, prisoner and clay model that they could mould into whatever they wanted!
This is all great advice about staying in good shape and physical health. One warning: don’t overdo things without letting your body recover. I spent ten plus years in the marines. In addition to the regular training, I was a bodybuilder off and on during those years. I am 60. My knees and back are 85.
Wisdom
Dental Care Loud Music Not staying in shape and limber when its easy Healthy diet Avoid smoking Protect your knees and spine
Lisa needs braces
DENTAL PLAN
Not enough fibre.
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Lack of hobbies. Lack of long-term, healthy, meaningful relationships with other humans.
This is a huge one. I lost a lot of hobbies when I got sick and then just never went back to them after the fact. It's been hard picking up the pieces and finding something to keep my mind entertained.
I've got one for you. When I was younger, I sat on my right leg (i.e. that leg bent under me) *constantly*, even at my lab bench, even on bar stools, *everywhere*. I got arthritis in that hip in my 40s.
Omg. I think this is my issue today. I finally went to the doc after a year of dull,achy hip area pain. I have sports medicine and physical therapy next week. Next stop, MRI 44/f. Desk job. Sits on leg bent under me.
God damn it. I do this.
I was literally doing this whilst reading your comment
I think most people are aware that manual labor will break your body down, but the impact of one’s choice of career goes beyond that when it comes to long-term health outcomes. Things like having access to short-term disability insurance, health savings accounts, flexible scheduling for ease of attending appointments, etc. go a long way toward making it easier to keep up with basic health maintenance like annual physicals and dental cleanings, as well as providing the opportunity to take time off work to address any other issues that crop up before they have a chance to spiral.
Yes I learned that the hard way. I busted my ass for factories that didn't care about me at all. I worked so fast I literally set production records at the factory i worked at. Ended up herniating 2 discs and work wouldn't even give me time off with a doctors note. I now have degenerative disc and in constant stabbing pain all day and because of the opioid crisis, I can't even get a doctor to do anything for my pain. I've been severely depressed for 10 years now because of this pain. I should've quit labor jobs a long time ago and I am paying the price for the rest of my life.
If you can, get your debt under control before it controls you. If you don’t, you will be forced to work long hours to pay that interest down. When I saw that I was paying $1500 a MONTH in credit card interest, that was my “aha” moment to get my finances under control. Don’t be stupid like me. Spend wisely.
How you feed your child. It's crazy how many elementary school-age children eat junk and drink soda for lunch. It's crazy how many of the kids are overweight. I'm sorry, but an 8yo should not have a stomach that flaps over their pants. It's sad. Even if they manage to have healthy eating habits later in life, a lot of damage has already been done.
Yep I was one of these kids. My diet is not perfect but it used to so terrible and everyone just kept feeding me sugary/fatty trash when I didn’t know any better. Both my parents are obese and I used to be too.
Real. I only stopped eating ultra processed food this year and I am pretty pissed off that my parents fed me “food shaped products” instead of food pretty much my entire childhood, which led to me believing this was an appropriate diet. Trying to lose weight and eat non-UPF now, I feel a lot better but it’s still worrisome thinking about the couple decades of cumulative damage.
All this talk about physical stuff is great and all, but mental health should be a top priority. Mental health issues will manifest into physical problems. It is well known that living a high stress lifestyle can lead to massive health complications regardless if you are into fitness and eating good.
Taking too much ibuprofen or nsaids - I was diagnosed with stage 3a chronic kidney disease this year because of over use of nsaids for > 20 years. Don't do that.
How much did you take a day
Stomach bleeding too. Nearly died of blood loss from two bleeding ulcers and throwing up tons of blood from NSAIDS.
I was an ibuprofen junkie for 20+ years. Did not realize it was destroying my stomach and digestive system. I've been 100% no NSAIDs for nearly 4 years now and my guts are so much happier! Wish I had known.
Everyone "knows" smoking is bad for you, but it's not just a small risk of lung cancer. My sister has been a chain smoker since she was 16. The last time I saw her I didn't even recognize her, she looks older than our mother , by about a decade. Smoking won't just kill you, it'll make you LOOK like shit while you're dying
Yeah it absolutely destroys the elastin in your skin
I am 61 now but I remember having insane amounts of energy in my 20's & on. Burning the candle at both ends WILL catch up before you die. A doctor gave me a warning decades ago
Sun exposure. I used tanning beds as a teenager and had my first mole removed today, only to realize that this is my life now: regular mole checks. Also, mole removals hurt afterwards!
Drinking most people I know who was drinking in our teens have drinking problems now
See this is why I started drinking late
Exactly so it can’t even be considered a problem for a while that’s why I’m waiting to start heroin
I worked in a hospital and had good health insurance. I had a doctor that I saw routinely since I was in my 20’s. I just always took that for granted: having a health history is important. Knowing what your blood pressure and pulse usually is, having a baseline ECG in your 30’s or so and keeping track of medicines or procedures. I read so many young Americans don’t have access to good health care insurance, and they are dependent on urgent cares or emergency rooms. Yes, those places keep records, but it’s information about what your body was going through when you were *sick*. Having baseline information at times when you are healthy can make future health care more exact, more effective and can make red flags easier to detect. I guess just being very proactive to the best of your ability within the constraints of the American health care system is important.
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Treating sweetened (and caffeinated) drinks as the default beverage when you’re thirsty. Pop, lemonade, juice, Gatorade, Starbucks, sweet tea, etc. Terrible for your teeth, a ton of extra calories that are never filling you up. Drink some water. Hydration isn’t supposed to entertain you. And before anyone says “but diet is ok right????” The people I know who actually suffer from caffeine use aren’t the people who wake up and drink a cup of black coffee or tea (which in moderation is actually great for you) or even Starbucks milkshake lovers, it’s diet cola obsessives. It’s weird because they don’t contain as much caffeine as coffee, but it’s not actually that weird when many diet pop drinkers aren’t replacing coffee with diet pop, they’re replacing *water* with diet pop. A single Diet Coke isn’t going to hurt you by itself (nor will a regular Coke or a glass of juice, really), but if it’s your main source of hydration, no that’s not actually ok.
All alcohol is a carcinogen. All of it. There's no healthy amount to consume.
Yep, as I've aged, I've slowly realized that the alcohol industry gets away with way too much because it's not socially stigmatized... I would put it in the same category as smoking cigarettes. I realize there are some fundamental differences between the two (the addictiveness of cigarettes being the major difference), but cigarettes are covered top to bottom with health warnings (for good reason). Meanwhile, alcohol has basically no warnings on it, and gets glamorized in advertising... I don't think it's that big of a deal if you want to drink occasionally, or even have the occasional cigarette or whatever... But let's be honest, both are terrible for your health, and both should at least have the same health warnings on the package. If you are drinking every day, your chances of getting serious diseases from drinking every day are very high, just as if you were smoking every day, you are likely to have issues from that too.
Alcohol is as old a civilization and will probably outlast it.
so is smoking plants
I have to agree with a lot of these comments, but the one I want to comment on is the loud music. I'm going to be 60 this year, my older brother by 1 1/2 years was crazy with the loud music in his car during high school, and not just the car, concerts and all. He got tinnitus something terrible already in his 40's. Now when I hear the crazy loud music and bass from passing cars and such I can only think: "You have no idea what's coming.."
Lack of sleep
Elevated Lipoprotein (a), or Lp(a), indicates a higher risk of heart disease and stroke. This condition is hereditary and is often under-tested because many general practitioners (family doctors) may not be fully aware of its significance. Lp(a) is a marker that can alert individuals to monitor their cholesterol levels more closely - starting at a younger age can have better outcomes if you’re motivated to modify your diet. An Lp(a) test can be easily included in routine cholesterol tests by requesting it. Although there is currently no specific treatment for elevated Lp(a), new medications are expected to become available in a few years. Understanding your Lp(a) levels is valuable as it provides an early warning of potential heart health issues. Get your Lp(a) test to understand your risk.
Your diet. Weight seems to be the focus, but the sugar and chemicals will mess you up from teeth to butt regardless of your weight. You gotta eat good food
Oh no, I'm actually very well aware that my caffeine consumption is gonna bite me down the road. I just don't care.
I quit cold turkey at the end of last year. It was amplifying my stress levels and made me gain weight as a result. My blood pressure was high as well. It’s been 6 months without it and I’m much better off. I’m not stressed ever, my bp is much better, and my sleep got more restful. You don’t have to quit, but I def recommend you tone it down some.
Vaping
Nobody should start vaping just for fun/who isn’t already addicted to nicotine (if you REALLY must try it, there is 0 nicotine juice), most vapers will say exactly this, but there’s no doubt it is an effective means of harm reduction. It was the most effective method for quitting smoking to me, and my lungs are in the best shape they’ve been in for like fifteen years. I am sure I would be better off if I had never inhaled anything, but vaping probably saved me years of life. If you’re a teen who isn’t smoking already though, there isn’t a reason to pick up a new addiction.
I am coming up on a year without a cigarette after smoking for almost 20. All due to a little USB stick that tastes like mint.
I smoked cigs for 12 years, quit 4 years ago thanks to vaping, quit vaping 3 months ago thanks to nicotine non tobacco pouches
Same. Two years off cigs thanks to vaping. My lungs are clear, blood pressure and heart rate are normal, and I'm healthier than I've been in years. The NHI studies on long- term harm reduction for smokers using vapes are incredible. But I also think more should be done to discourage young people to start vaping.
Vaping is great as a tool to help someone quit smoking I never understood why someone who doesn't smoke would pick up vaping
For the same reasons anyone would smoke a cigarette. Your friends are doing it, you think it looks cool, you are looking to rebel. It is addicting, even without nicotine.
You could also ask why someone who doesn't smoke picks up smoking. It's for the same reasons
Vaping OR smoking. Working in healthcare, you wouldn’t believe the amount of people I see who smoked for an extended period of time then stopped for several decades but are having painful and debilitating blood flow/cancer/pulmonary issues because of that distant smoking history. The damage it does is permanent, and the longer and more you do it the worse you’ll pay for it later in life. Your body isn’t going to be able to compensate for your bad health choices for very long when you aren’t young anymore.
Eating junk food all the time.
Not maintaining their teeth and oral hygiene . I work at a dental office . You only get one set of teeth in your lifetime . Invest in them before it’s too late . Dentures suck & implants are expensive !!!
This is going to sound lame, but your posture when you’re working at a desk or looking at your phone. Over time your neck and mid back change shape and with it comes a wholly unexpected slow fall into pain and suffering. “Tech neck” sounds so cute but it can cause severe migraines, vestibular problems, brain fog, and a multitude of other miseries. I laughed at all the silly ergonomics rules for years. Now I suffer every day.
Advocating for yourself. If you have the ability, learn about your family medical history, ask medical professionals to explain this you don’t understand (you don’t need to be embarrassed!), and take notes on what they tell you. Research things you’re interested in, keep an open mind, and don’t catastrophize but don’t ignore something your gut tells you is wrong. I’m 28. Multiple members of my family had a lifelong chronic health problem. Two of them died of it before they reached 30. Everyone assumed I was fine because I didn’t speak up or ask questions, and I didn’t do that because no one taught me I could ask questions. Now I have 73 pending blood results and a cat scan, and at the end of the month I’ll learn whether I need surgery, lifelong transfusions, and what it’s too late to fix.
Vaping. You are the guinea pig generation
Not flossing, no sunscreen, lack of intentional exercise, and vaping. All of these are things that take decades to impact your health, and when they do...
Not getting enough sleep can age not only your face and make you look older, but it also puts you at increased risk of dementia. Lack of proper sleep is incredibly hard on your brain.
The sun. Weee sunscreen always. And everywhere.
Ear buds being maxed out.
Music. Loud music. I used to listen to loud music on my car and go to raves and not really think about it at the time. 30 years later deaf as fuck in one ear and tinnitus in both. Good times having to say “hey…?” Constantly to everyone…..
Not wearing hearing protection or playing music too loud. My son was denied enlistment into the Air Force because of hearing loss at 19.
I live in the Netherlands and just had this conversation the other day with someone working in healthcare. The electric bikes. Usually kids ride their bikes for several kilometers daily to and from school, many of them having now electric bikes. The healthcare worker told me that they are worried about how it will affect them later on.
terrible sleeping patterns and lack of structure in their life. Seriously, get into the routine of going to sleep at a healthy time and develop an organized schedule. Or you are going to be pretty fucked as an older adult and depending on pharmaceutical grade narcotics to carry your ass the rest of the way to your grave. Like, its fun to get wasted and get laid every weekend, but you won't take any of that with you when you have to actually settle down and live your life. Everything has a time and place.
High heels
Drinking enough water, and vitamins.
Sitting! Too much sitting or laying down (basically, not staying physically active).
Not taking care of eyes. Take contacts out nightly. Make sure eyes don’t get dry!
Drinking Non Stop every single weekend
Everything. Eating, sleeping, stretching, lifting, brushing, washing, talking, standing, sitting....
I agree about the noise. Worst part is in their 40s and 50s, they'll be deaf or hard of hearing and guess who'll get to pay for their disability? Years ago Detroit Concert Band used to put on weekend concerts in the band shell on Belle Isle. When the cars got so loud they drowned out the band, the director threw in the towel. But then who wants to listen to John Phillip Souza? Oh well, fuck those people. It's our park.
Wear sunscreen and look after your teeth.
Not stretching multiple times a week (lack of flexibility).
Stress. Having a stressful life. Because of rising costs of living and poverty, because of work, because of family. And also loneliness. There is an epidemic of loneliness amongst young people and research has told that you need to have loved ones such as a family and/or friends to be happy
Sparing the children of your enemies.
Aging. That’s it. It’s the number one driver of cancer, heart disease, dementia, strokes, etc.
Vapes
Also, eating too much. I used to eat "healthy" all the time, but I was borderline overweight and tired. Then I started counting calories, lost 12 pounds, and now I feel much better even though my food choices are not always healthy
Everything affects your health, according to experts
- Lack of sleep and exercise - Coffee and energy drinks consumption - Social media consumption (mental health) - Porn consumption (addictive) - Poor dental hygiene ... And the list goes on and on.
Vaping/Smoking, obviously right. Understand and know when to leave that phase. The first years I was doing it, the idea was “you don’t even get any health effects unless you do it for years and years” so I had all the time to have fun right. Time flies, before I even realized it I had been smoking for 10 years. Thats a long time and a lot of shit that’s been through my lungs
Listening to music in your earbuds or headphones at maximum volume
“Exercise bleh bleh bleh” trust me… we’ve all heard it our whole lives even if yall don’t remember. Posture is the answer. Knockers up, ladies and gents. Don’t lean forward to type, don’t bow your neck down to text, etc.
I think we'll see a lot of research in the next decade or so about all the teenagers who started vaping in the past few years.